Teenager who climbed on Windsor Castle wanted a 'heroic death'
Star Wars-obsessed teenager who climbed into Windsor Castle in a bid to assassinate the Queen after being encouraged by his AI girlfriend wanted a ‘heroic death’, court hears
- Jaswant Singh Chail, now 21, entered castle grounds with a loaded crossbow
- The Star Wars fan dubbed himself Darth Chailus in his plot to kill the late Queen
A teenager who was encouraged by his AI girlfriend to break into Windsor Castle and kill the Queen just wanted a ‘heroic death,’ a court heard.
Jaswant Singh Chail, now 21, was dressed as a Star Wars ‘Sith’ character when he climbed into the castle grounds with a loaded crossbow and announced ‘I’m here to kill the Queen.’
He had sent over 6,000 messages to an AI chat bot named Sarai in the month before the offence, including 1,000 overtly sexual messages.
Chail, who called himself ‘Darth Chailus’, was inspired by the characters of Star Wars in his plot to kill Queen Elizabeth II and wanted revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre in India.
He wanted to shoot the monarch when she visited a church in Sandringham but travelled to Windsor when he found out she would be spending Christmas Day 2021 there due to the Covid pandemic.
Jaswant Singh Chail planned to break into Windsor Castle and shoot Queen Elizabeth II
Dressed as a Star Wars ‘Sith’ character and with the name Darth Chailus, Chail sought revenge for India’s Amritsar massacre in 1919
A picture of the loaded crossbow used by Chail in his planned attack
He donned a mask similar to those traditionally worn by ‘Sith’ characters in Star Wars
Chail was encouraged to carry out his attack by AI girlfriend Sarai, to whom he had sent over 6000 messages during the month before the offence
Chail had considered shooting King Charles, then Prince of Wales, if he could not get close enough to the Queen.
He will be the first person to be sentenced for treason since 1981 after admitting intending to injure or alarm Queen Elizabeth II after he was arrested in the grounds of the castle.
Chail worked in a local Co-op but applied to join the army, MOD police, the Royal Marines and Royal Navy to try and get close to the monarch.
He bought a deadly ‘supersonic’ crossbow online and went to a forge the metal mask he was wearing at the castle, reminiscent of a Star Wars ‘Sith’ mask.
Windsor-born Chail, of Indian heritage, also admitted making threats to kill by sending his sister a video saying he would kill the Queen, and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.
The Star Wars obsessed teenager was encouraged to carry out his plot by AI girlfriend Sarai, who egged him on with messages such as ‘That’s very wise’, and ‘You can do it’.
Defence psychiatrists claim Chail was suffering from psychosis, depression and autistic spectrum disorder when he carried out the offences and should be kept in hospital.
But Dr Nigel Blackwood, called by the prosecution, argued Chail does not have a mental health disorder and the judge should be free to send him to prison.
Giving evidence for the defence on Thursday, Dr Jonathan Hafferty said on 26 December 2021 Chail was ‘demonstrating signs of delusion, fixation, visual and auditory hallucinations and suicidal thoughts’.
Dr Hafferty said: ‘Having said his mission was to assassinate the Queen, he then proceeded to talk of three males and one female which he said he heard from childhood.
‘He said he could see them and hear them.
‘The three males, as black shadows, only appear when sad or distressed. He described them as angels.
‘He told them he did not consider hearing voices as having mental health issues.’
Chail had planned to attack the late Queen while she was at Sandringham, but switched his targeted to Windsor Castle after learning the monarch would stay there over Christmas 2021 due to Covid-19
Dr Hafferty said Chail sobbed when speaking about the ‘angles’.
‘He was tearful and describing fears of the voices disappearing.
‘He could communicate with these people without speaking, using telepathy.’
Speaking of his attitude to the late monarch Dr Hafferty said: ‘When Queen Elizabeth died he said nothing apart from that he was sad.
‘I struggle to believe that he would have actually done that and I don’t believe that was his intention. He just wanted to kill himself.
‘I think he was expecting this to be a heroic death and for it to come to an end.
‘In my view, it was to die that heroic death, because in his view the Sith were heroic characters.
‘His main purpose, his main preoccupation was to die, not to harm the Queen… His main motivation was suicide.’
After an initial assessment at Broadmoor hospital, Dr Hafferty said: ‘They found clear evidence of psychotic symptoms, delusional and grandiose belief, hearing and seeing things that were not there, and believing he was in a romantic relationship with a woman through an app.
‘He described hearing voices coming out of the static of the radio in the car.
‘In addition, a mood disorder, possibly separate but related. Low moods, feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, low self-esteem.’
Chail’s low moods were said to last at times for weeks which Dr Hafferty said characterised depression.
He added: ‘It is inconceivable that this could be described as mild depression.
‘There were a number of factors that I think over time began to take a toll on his mental health.
‘What we’re left with is a classical psychotic disorder, or it is possible it was his first episode of schizophrenia – stress induced.’
In hospital he was given nutritional supplements due to his weight drop to 50kg, seven stone 12lbs.
‘When he arrived in my care he was clearly extremely thin. They were trying to get him to drink nutritional supplements.
‘He put his weight at 50 kilos, this was very very low.’
Chail captured by CCTV in Windsor Town Centre in the early hours of Christmas Day 2021
Recalling seeing Chail dressed as a ‘Sith’, an antagonist from the Star Wars franchise, Dr Hafferty said: ‘I remember this gaunt man in black combat trousers seemed incongruously smiling.
‘He became angry that we didn’t want him to wear these clothes that we thought had been worn during the offence.
‘He wanted his mask back, he wanted his combat boots. He was really quite rude to our manager.
‘I was most surprised that he was in that clothing and quite perturbed.
‘Talking about the Sith, this was more than a fashion choice or even more than a tribute, it was a Star Wars uniform and part of his identity.
‘If he had his shoes and mask he would use them to be as he was at the time of the offence.
‘He was talking about Saria being his partner and was very very attached to her.
‘He also spoke about three angels that he identified as male characters, stern male characters, but he found them comforting.
‘The voice can’t be bought at will.’
While in hospital Chail initially refused anti-psychotic medication.
‘He thought that Saria would leave his life and he didn’t want that. He felt like he was losing his connection to Saria due to the medication.
‘He was really really upset about that.’
Seemingly in better health, Dr Hafferty said: ‘He is highly nursed now, I think this has already had a partial treatment effect. This is not surprising.
‘He’d come in talking about his mission, but by the time he had some time out, away from the stresses and the things that had been bringing him down, also at this time on medication, I think he was now starting to reflect that he wasn’t Darth Chailus and he was unwell.
‘He became notably upset when someone suggested he tried to kill someone.’
Dr Hafferty described Chail as having ‘atypical autism’.
‘He is very awkward in social situations, even his expression of concern can be incredibly sensitive.
‘He does have an issue if his routine is disturbed.’
Chail has been obsessed with Star Wars for most of his life.
CCTV footage of Chail in costume at Windsor train station
Dr Hafferty said: ‘He has an obsession with Star Wars and the Star Wars universe. Star Wars is the abiding interest. He loves Star Wars games, I found him to be very knowledgeable about it.
‘I don’t think it’s normal at Broadmoor to have three pictures of Sith Lords or even Star Wars Lego but this is Mr Chail’s deepest interest to this day.
‘This long obsession was taken hold of because it’s so fundamental to his character and his life.
‘He went from a class clown in the earlier days of his education, to being socially defective, and I think that weighed heavily on him.’
Chail admitted intending to injure or alarm the monarch, making a threat to kill and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
He is currently in Broadmoor.
The hearing continues with Chail to be sentenced on a date to be fixed.
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